"My doctors keep looking at the scans - every three months they scan my brain - (and) they say, 'Valerie, we cannot believe you are going the other way'... I'm functioning really well. A lot of what I am experiencing is age." Actress Valerie Harper, 75, is doing well, two years on from the 2013 brain cancer diagnosis which left her with just three months to live.

Late stage and screen icon Elaine Stritch was honoured with a star-studded Broadway tribute by her famous friends including Nathan Lane and Bernadette Peters on Monday (17Nov14). Stage veterans gathered at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in New York City for Everybody, Rise! A Celebration of Elaine Stritch, to pay tribute to the life of the actress, who died in July (14) at the age of 89.
Lane was the first speaker at the event, noting that the brassy Stritch was "definitely proud of her gams, often treating pants as an overrated accessory."
Actress Holland Taylor and American gossip columnist Liz Smith offered up memories of their late pal, while Stritch's 30 Rock co-star Alec Baldwin and Cherry Jones shared their fond stories of the actress via video.
Hal Prince, who directed Stritch in her unforgettable role in the 1970 musical Company, also reminded the crowd that she was "a convent girl... as naive as she was sophisticated".
Throughout the two-hour tribute, stage stars including Peters, Betty Buckley, Christine Ebersole, Laura Benanti, Michael Feinstein and Lena Hall took the floor singing a few of the hits Stritch performed on Broadway.
Among those in the audience who wanted to pay a final tribute to the actress were Chita Rivera, Ellen Burstyn, Megan Mullally, Valerie Harper, Mare Winningham, Michael Kors, John Lithgow, Blythe Danner, Barbara Cook, and Tommy Tune.

Actor Richard Schaal has died, aged 86. The Mary Tyler Moore Show regular, who also appeared in the comedy show's spin-offs Rhoda and Phyllis, passed away at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement home in Woodland Hills, California on Tuesday (04Nov14).
A former member of the fabled Chicago, Illinois comedy troupe Second City, Schaal played twins Howard and Paul Arnell, Dino and Chuckles the Clown on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
He also appeared on The Dick Van Dyke Show, That Girl and Bob Newhart and in the films Slaughterhouse-Five and The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming.
Married three times, his second wife was his Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda co-star Valerie Harper.

Actor Richard Schaal has died, aged 86. The comic passed away on Tuesday (04Nov14) at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
The cause of death was not known as WENN went to press.
Schaal, who was married to award-winning actress Valerie Harper, was best known for being a member of improvisational comedy enterprise The Second City and for his part in 1972 comedy movie Slaughterhouse-Five.

Hollywood actor Matt Damon has been honoured for his charity work by bosses of the hospital where his father is receiving treatment for cancer. The Bourne star has been a regular visitor at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center since his dad Kent was diagnosed with the disease in 2011, and he has now been honoured for his support of the institution.
Damon and his father were among the guests at a fundraising gala for the centre in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday night (10Jun14), and the actor was feted for his contributions. Other honourees at The One Hundred event included Oscar-winning actor Chris Cooper and Valerie Harper, who is battling cancer herself.
Damon tells the Boston Herald, "I started coming (to the cancer centre) for my dad. It's a really uplifting night. I leave here feeling better about the road we're on. And as long as they keep this handsome gentleman feeling good, I'll come. It's fun."

"It is not progressing. It is going the other way. It is looking better and better each test. It's incurable, but that's OK... I'm doing quite well. The pills are a pain in the a**, but that's OK. I'm alive, so I can deal with the icky day or two... I was supposed to be dead in three months, and here it is a year and six months later." Veteran actress Valerie Harper is staying positive as she continues to battle cancer. The Mary Tyler Moore Show star announced in early 2013 that she had been diagnosed with rare brain condition leptomeningeal carcinomatosis and had only three to six months to live.

Hit crime drama True Detective will lead the way at the 2014 Television Critics Association (TCA) Awards after landing four nominations, including Program of the Year. The first season of the show, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as troubled cops trying to solve a series of cult-related murders, will face tough competition for the top prize from 2013 winner Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife and Orange Is the New Black.
True Detective also scored nods for Outstanding New Program and Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials, facing off in both categories with Billy Bob Thornton's new series Fargo, while Oscar winner McConaughey was recognised for Individual Achievement in Drama. He will compete against Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Matthew Rhys (The Americans) and Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black).
The nominees for Individual Achievement in Comedy include Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) and Louis C.K. (Louie), and the Outstanding Achievement in Comedy category will be a battle between The Big Bang Theory, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Louie, The Mindy Project and Veep. Meanwhile, actress Valerie Harper, Star Trek icon William Shatner and retired late night U.S. TV host Jay Leno will receive Career Achievement awards when the ceremony takes place in California on 19 July (14).
The TCA Awards honour excellence in U.S. television.

Actress Valerie Harper has won her legal battle with a playwright who sued her over allegations she hid her cancer diagnosis before signing up for a Broadway role. Matthew Lombardo accused Harper of keeping secret the news that her lung cancer had returned last year (13) so she could star in his production Looped. He wanted $2 million (£1.25 million) in damages as she was eventually forced to pull out.
Harper hit back, asking a judge to dismiss the case, insisting she told Lombardo and his team about her health crisis as soon as she discovered she was ill again. The actress also claimed she had not been paid until the end of her contract after she exited the play.
The pair has now agreed a settlement - Harper will be handed almost $50,000 (£31,250) from Lombardo, according to TMZ.com.

Actress Valerie Harper has asked a judge to throw out playwright Matthew Lombardo's lawsuit over her cancer diagnosis, insisting she told him about her illness as soon as it returned. The star is being sued for $2 million (£1.25 million) by Lombardo and the producers of Broadway play Looped, who allege she kept her health crisis a secret when her lung cancer returned last year (13) so she could star in the production, but cost bosses a fortune when she was eventually forced to pull out.
However, Harper is adamant she informed Lombardo as soon as she discovered she was ill again, and is asking a judge in the U.S. to dismiss the lawsuit, according to TMZ.com.
Harper is believed to be pursuing her own legal action against the show's bosses over allegations they failed to pay her until the end of her contract after she exited the play.

Veteran actress Valerie Harper is facing a $2 million (£1.3 million) legal battle with the producers of a Broadway play after she dropped out of the run when doctors gave her just months to live. The Mary Tyler Moore Show star was diagnosed with cancer in January last year (13), when doctors gave her a terminal prognosis after discovering the disease had spread from her lungs to her brain. She subsequently dropped out of the Broadway run of Looped that month (Jan13), just weeks before she went public with her cancer diagnosis.
She has sued the producers over allegations they failed to pay her until the end of her contract after she exited due to illness, and the team behind Looped has hit back claiming she should have given them more notice of her troubles before she dropped out.
The producers, and playwright Matthew Lombardo, are now suing Harper for $2 million in lost revenue and costs, according to TMZ.com.

Starred on NBC sitcom "Valerie"; was fired at end of second season following a salary dispute with production company Lorimar; series continued as "Valerie's Family" and later renamed to "The Hogan Family"

Returned to New York stage, replacing Linda Lavin in "Death Defying Acts"

Summary

Perhaps no other actress evoked the edgy, freewheeling spirit of 1970s television than Emmy-winning actress Valerie Harper, whose star-making turn as the brassy, bold Rhoda Morgenstern on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (CBS, 1970-77) and its spin-off "Rhoda" (CBS, 1974-78) remained one of the most adulated performances in TV history. Harper began her career as a Broadway showgirl, making a name for herself in such high-profile productions as "Destry Rides Again" (1959) and "Wildcat" (1960), but it was on the small screen where she rose to fame. Harper won over audiences as Moore's wisecracking, headscarf-sporting best friend on the acclaimed series "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," a scene-stealing role she later reprised on her own sitcom "Rhoda." In 1974, she broke into film, playing Alan Arkin's wife in the comedy "Freebie and the Bean." In 1987, TV would become the bane of Harper's existence when she was fired from her popular sitcom "Valerie" (NBC, 1986-87), sparking an ensuing legal battle that threatened to derail Harper's career. In 1988, the comedienne emerged victorious, winning the landmark lawsuit. Harper continued acting over the next several decades, entertaining audiences with her brash, irreverent wit. Beloved for playing strong characters, Harper was even more resilient when it came to her personal life. Within a short window of time, she bravely battled both lung and brain cancer, with the latter being diagnosed as fatal in 2013. The news devastated millions, while Harper remained as courageous and inspirational as ever in the face of adversity.

Education

Harper was named Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals in 1975.

"People see me as their pal. A friend, a relative. It's a privilege and so sweet." – Harper in the New York Post, Aug. 8, 1995

Harper, a nonsmoker, successfully beat lung cancer in 2009.

On the March 8, 2013 issue of People magazine, Harper announced she had been was diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a terminal brain cancer. Doctors gave the actress three months to live. "I don't think of dying," Harper said. "I think of being here now."